Government scheme 'no help for first-time buyers'

Those looking to get on the property ladder will not benefit much from a new scheme to buy up unsold homes, the boss of a housing firm has said.

Yesterday prime minister Gordon Brown said the government will introduce a new measure that will see it spend £200 million buying up unsold homes, some of which will be rented out as social housing while the rest will be sold to first-time buyers on shared equity schemes.

Those buying in this shared way will also be helped to buy on the open market through a £100 million scheme.

Housing minister Caroline Flint added today that the Homebuy scheme which makes this kind of purchase up to 50 per cent easier was now no longer to be restricted to key workers.

However, Galliford Try Homes managing director Ian Baker said the new policy was "nothing more than an empty gesture and will do very little to increase activity in the market or to ease the current plight for first-time buyers".

He said only a "tiny percentage" of homes would be affected in this way and suggested measures such as giving first-time buyers a stamp duty "holiday" would be more effective.

Those who do not believe such new initiatives can help get them on the housing ladder may decide to go down the self build route as an alternative.


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